The Weekly Atticus (05/05/2018)

Force Yourself into the Sunshine | The Weekly Atticus

A recap of the week at Atticus Review, along with some extras.

Dear ,

On a Friday evening after a particularly stressful week, a calendar alert reminded me that I had signed up for a writing salon at the National Portrait Gallery. The idea of some quiet time dedicated to writing while surrounded by art sounded appealing the day I enrolled, but the morning of the event I was exhausted. I spent a solid hour that Saturday morning debating whether I should hop on a train downtown or slither back into a warm bed. Then I remembered how disappointed I felt when I missed out on previous writing salons at the gallery, as they often filled up quickly, and how excited I was to get a place this time.When I arrived at the gallery, I found other unsure-looking writers waiting for the salon to start. Unless we're behind a desk and a mountain books, we writers often look lost. We spend much of our writing lives isolated, and we forget what it's like to be surrounded by others who speak the same creative language.The salon guide asked us to take some time to view work from "Unseen: Our Past in a New Light," an exhibit that challenges historical representations of minorities in art. It's a moving exhibit that sparked thoughtful conversations and impassioned writing. It was striking to witness. When the salon ended, I walked up to the Great Hall where an opera singer gave “the gift of song” to visitors who accepted her offering. Her voice filled the vast hall as she sang to a little girl who sat on her mother’s lap. Afterward, I poured over images and artifacts from the “One Life: Sylvia Plath” exhibit. I might have missed it all had I decided to stay home that day.Sometimes we must force ourselves into different environments and open ourselves to art outside of the modes we work in. I've written before about visual work that inspires my own craft, but I must continually remind myself to resist spending day after day in front of a computer screen. When we open a channel of inspiration, we enrich and broaden our work. As spring (finally) arrives for many of us, let's force ourselves into the sunshine, into worlds outside our usual routines to shift our perspectives, even when we don't particularly feel like it. There is never a perfect time. To wait for a perfect time is to risk running out of time altogether, and that would be truly missing out.Thanks for reading. We’re glad you’re here.

Dorothy BendelManaging Editor

ATTICUS NEWS

THE FIRST ANNUAL ATTICUS REVIEW FLASH CNF CONTEST!Oh, hey everybody. Submissions are open again after a short spring hiatus. But wait it gets better...we also have this little Creative Nonfiction contest we're running, judged by Sarah Gerard.I KNOW, RIGHT??

THIS WEEK AT ATTICUS

FERAL TOWN by Adam Gustavson

BOOK REVIEW: WHEN TRAUMA IS THE MUSEA review of CIRCADIAN by Chelsey ClammerReview by Naomi Kimbell"...a well-mastered collection of vision and feeling and sound, mixed together for one intense read."READ ON

FICTION: A ROMAN ROADby Adam McOmber"They come from Rome, the revelers, all gold and violet tattered. They come in carts and broken litters, sedans and palanquins. They ride on bridled mules and once fine horses. They walk and limp and drink a bitter wine."READ ON

POETRY: HUMAN USESby Danielle WeeksThe winning poem in our 2018 Poetry Contest judged by Aimee Nezhukumatathil!"I could sit there with the open dead // and watch the fish turn their bodies / into points of light tucked into sky."READ ON

CNF: SHRINE OF THE HOLLOW CHESTby Ian Riggins"Here is my confession: I am not afraid of the ocean, the dark sea, what swims beneath the surface. I am afraid of exposing my shape. So I stay away from the current’s strength, the sand’s heat. I hunch beneath the heaviest towel."READ ON

MIXED MEDIA: WHAT IS THE WORD (QUÉ PALABRA)by Eduardo YagüeEduardo Yagüe has studied Dramatic Arts and Spanish Language and Literature. In Madrid he worked as an actor in theater and film. He is interested in mixing genres in his videos, searching the limits and interactions of poetic and cinematographic languages. WHAT IS THE WORD is his tribute to Samuel Beckett, who has been influential in Yagüe's work.  READ ON

FILM REVIEW: THIS IS HOW YOU TELL A LOVE STORYA review of GODARD MON AMOR from Director Michel Hazanavicius Review by Alison Lanier"In a narrative where the easy story to tell is one of domination and regret, Godard Mon Amor treads masterfully around cliffs and pitfalls to deliver a movie that is full of charm and conviction."READ ON

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